BUILDING A STRONG CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM

Every organisation, company, or business must have a very strong customer service team, as it is the customer service agents that make the total customer experience one to always remember as pleasant. The customer service team comprises persons who cater to the questions, enquiries, and overall needs of the customers. They serve as a major touch point, in the entire customer experience. This customer service team, must be created by a management which understands the rudiments of picking great, and competent individuals to make up the customer service team. There are some pointers that the management of any company, or business, should look out for when picking out their teams for customer service delivery. Some of these pointers include making sure the prospective team members, are caring, and very knowledgeable about the business products, and services, but to mention a few.

Being caring, as one of the yardstick for becoming a team member for customer service delivery, is a major factor which must not be compromised on. When team members are being picked out, it must be considered that only caring persons are selected, as the whole idea of customer service deals with tendering to customer needs, which can never be realised, if the Customer Service Agent (CSA) does not care about the concerns of customers. The team members must be caring enough to run the business, like it were theirs. This means that the potential CSA must possess the ability to view the business, as though they were the bosses, or C.E.O of the company, and not just as an employee, or ordinary team member of the company. Everyone who owns a business, always works

towards making sure that business thrives; no one wants their business to become a failure. Consequently, if the CSAs see the business, as their own, they would do all they can to make sure the business flourishes, at the end of the day.

Also, in building a strong customer service (CS) team, the management, or expert hired to do the selection, must seek out selfless team members, who are dedicated, and driven. Team members of any customer service team, must be selfless; they must, at all times, think of ways to make the customers happy, at all costs, so long as they do not imbibe illegal, or corrupt practices in doing that. They must be empathic about whatever situation the customers find themselves in, and selflessly help out to make the customers have a glad, and satisfactory experience, amidst the initial sour nature of their patronage experience. Such team members, must also be very dedicated, and driven; potential CSAs must have been observed to be very committed to their work, even in tough times. Murmurers, and lazy hands, are not needed in a customer service team, which is expected to deliver great customer experiences to the customer. Only individuals, who are driven to the sole cause of customer service delivery, must be selected to be on the CS team.

Bad attitudes must not be tolerated; individuals with terrible attitudes, are not expected to be on the CS team. Bad attitudes would only put the customers off, and no business wants to have customers who are always put off by poor attitudes of CSA. Individuals vying to be on the customer service team, must be properly sifted, so as to know the ones with good attitudes, as well as the ones without. The latter would only break, and not build a good CS team, and eventually destroy the entire customer experience, to shreds.

Most importantly, in building a strong CS team, individuals being considered, must be vastly knowledgeable of the products, and services which the company offers. Product, and process knowledge of any business, or company, by CSAs, is very necessary, in answering the questions customers may have, as well as in the solving process. Putting someone who has little, or no knowledge of the services of the business, and the company as a whole, is as good as placing a moron behind a desk, to answer to customers. This should be completely avoided when picking out a strong CS team. To be able to determine which individuals fit into all these qualities, that is, to know persons who are caring, dedicated, have a good attitude, and are knowledgeable of the products, and services of the company, testing, and, or, probation must be carried out. This process involves giving prospective CS team members, a time frame, to exhibit these qualities which would help them perform excellently, in customer service delivery. After the probation, proper sifting can then be done, to pick out the ones most appropriate, and skilled for the job, from the ones who performed averagely. Putting the aforementioned tips into cognisance, when picking out individuals to be on a Customer service team, would help a great deal, in building a strong team at that.